New hope for test veterans

KEY MEETING: Douglas and Sandie Hern will present new evidence on nuclear tests to John Baron MP on Tuesday. SG070614-100TW

Nuclear test veteran Douglas Hern has unearthed fresh evidence to help win Government recognition for the forces who suffered through witnessing atomic and hydrogen bomb explosions.

Douglas (77) and wife Sandie have a key meeting in the House of Commons on Tuesday with John Baron MP, patron of the British Nuclear Test Veterans Association, to discuss how the new information should best be used.

The Moulton couple say the discovery gives added impetus to the campaign to win a Government statement from Prime Minister David Cameron – officially recognising huge sacrifices made by the veterans – and to establish a £25million, non-liability fund to help pay for “medical setbacks” suffered by veterans and their descendants.

Mr Hern is keeping the new evidence secret for now, but says: “It’s definitely going to be of great value to our campaign.”

America and Canada compensated their test veterans with huge lump sums, but successive British Governments have turned their backs on our servicemen sent to watch nuclear tests with no protection from radiation.

Some veterans died in their 30s from illnesses like cancer – and Douglas lost his own daughter to cancer at the age of 13 because the nuclear tests are harming the veterans’ descendants.

Douglas and fellow veterans were in Parliament just weeks ago to show a film revealing the effects of the nuclear tests – but most MPs attended Prime Minister’s question time instead as David Cameron was fielding questions on the disgraced former News of the World editor Andy Coulson.

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